US, South Africa, and 6 Other Countries' Travel Restrictions Lifted Starting from the 31st

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] The U.S. administration under Joe Biden will fully lift travel restrictions on eight countries in the South Africa region, where the new COVID-19 variant Omicron was first reported, starting from the 31st.

According to the White House, President Biden released a statement on the 28th (local time) announcing this decision. He explained, "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), having learned more about Omicron over the past few weeks, now recommends lifting travel restrictions," and "Based on the CDC's recommendation, we have determined that lifting the travel ban is in the national interest of the United States."

He also added, "U.S. health authorities have made significant progress in understanding the Omicron variant through collaboration with scientists in South Africa. Experts have confirmed that people vaccinated against COVID-19 are protected from severe illness and hospitalization caused by Omicron," and "Travel restrictions are no longer necessary to protect public health."

The new policy will take effect at 12:01 a.m. EST on December 31. The countries subject to the travel lifting are South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, and Malawi?eight countries in total. Earlier, the Biden administration had restricted entry from these eight countries after the outbreak of Omicron in the South Africa region at the end of last month.

Meanwhile, the CDC added Sweden, Malta, and Moldova to the list of high-risk travel countries classified under travel advisory level 4 on the same day.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.